On September 24, 2004 Russia successfully launched Soyuz-U rocket with Cosmos-2410 spacecraft from the Plesetsk launch site. The launch was reported to be part of the flight testing program (LKI) of a “new generation satellite” developed by TsSKB Progress and MZ Arsenal. According to the Space Forces, the main goal of the mission is “to confirm viability of technical decisions that will be used in a broad range of military satellites that will constitute the core of the Russian satellite constellation up to 2015.”

The launch was performed from the launch complex No. 16 of the Plesetsk launch site by the Space Forces crews at 20:50 MSK (19:50 DMV, 16:50 UTC). According to the Main Space Command and Control Center of the Space Forces, the spacecraft successfully reached their orbits at 20:59 MSK and the Center crews took control overt the satellite at 21:01 MSK. Cosmos-2410 received international designation 2004-038A and NORAD catalog number 28396.

According to NORAD data, Cosmos-2410 was deployed in an orbit with inclination of 67.15 degrees, orbital period of about 90 minutes, apogee of 368 km, and perigee of 175 km. This indicates that the satellite is most likely an optical reconnaissance satellite of the Yantar-4KS2 Kobalt family, which used these orbits in the past.

The launch was initially scheduled on September 23rd, 2004, but on September 19th, 2004 the Space Forces announced that the launch will be postponed for one day to allow for additional technical checks.

This launch was the first launch from the complex No. 16 at Plesetsk since June 20th, 1996, when a Souyz-U launcher was destroyed shortly after liftoff.

When Cosmos-2410 was launched in September 2004, its mission was described by the Space Forces as testing new technologies that would then be used in new generations of spacecraft. The spacecraft completed its mission and re-entered atmosphere on Janua...

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On April 29, 2009 the Space Forces successfully launched a Soyuz-U rocket from the Plesetsk launch site. The satellite, designated Cosmos-2450, is an optical reconnaissance satellite of the Kobalt-M type.